Top 5 Royals Who Gave Up Their Title for Love
#5: King Carol II of Romania
Top 20 Best Burger King Menu Items
King Carol’s reign was full of controversy, a lot of it due to his tendency towards the romantic. In 1919, his marriage to commoner Zizi Lambrino ended in an annulment. Two years later he married Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark. Politically this was a great match, but Carol wasn’t satisfied and conducted several extramarital affairs, including one with a low born woman by the name of Magda Lupescu. This affair lead to Carol and Helen’s divorce as well as his decision to remove himself from the line of succession. Years later Carol finally married Magda, only after his title had been reinstated and he had been named king. The two remained together until Carol’s death in 1953.
#4: Prince Johan Friso of Orange-Nassau
When Prince Friso and Mabel Smit fell in love they tried to play by the rules and attempted to get Parliament’s permission to get married. Unfortunately, Mabel's past associations with drug baron Klaas Bruinsma made things complicated. Giving up hope for approval, the couple got married anyway and Johan lost his association with the Dutch Royal House as a result. Like a regular Prince Charming, when Johan proposed to Mabel he showed up at her door dressed in a white suit armed with champagne and a ring. Sadly not all love stories have happy endings. In 2012 Johan fell into a coma after being buried in an avalanche, and passed away 18 months later.
#3: Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark
Today we know Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth as a respectable couple, but when they first met they created something of a stir. Philip was born outside of Britain, was part of another royal family, and was a member of the Greek Orthodox church. Despite these objections Elizabeth and Philip were determined to get married. Philip made the sacrifices of renouncing his Danish and Greek titles, and being baptised into the Church of England all so he could marry Elizabeth. He even had to change his last name, taking that of his maternal grandparents.
#2: Edward VIII of Britain
When Edward fell in love with divorcée Wallis Simpson, it nearly brought down an entire government. After Edward’s father died in 1936 he took over the throne, but his reign lasted less than a year. At the time, divorce was not recognized by the Church of England, so it was assumed that citizens were not willing to accept a king married to a previously divorced woman. The chances of the British parliament falling if Edward married Simpson was too high, so Edward abdicated, leaving the throne to his younger brother George VI. The couple married once Simpson’s divorce was final and then spent the rest of their lives together.
#1: Princess Mako of Japan
Why Princess Diana is Still So Relevant
Princess Mako has been making headlines all around the world since she announced in 2017 that she would be giving up her royal title to be with a “commoner”. Mako met Kei Komoru at the International Christian University, which they both attended. In accordance with Japan’s Imperial Household Law, Mako isn’t just losing her title but she will also technically no longer be a member of the family. This means she’ll have adapt to a completely different lifestyle, but it seems that true love is worth the sacrifice, and we look forward to seeing this love story unfold.
